Pence, Kaine have sharply different goals in VP debate

Maureen Groppe , USA TODAY , KING10:38 AM. EDT October 04, 2016

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on October 3, 2016 shows
Republican Vice Presidential nominee and running mate Mike Pence(L) speaking during the Midwest Vision and Values Pastors and Leadership Conference at the New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio on September 21, 2016,and US Democratic Nominee for Vice President Tim Kaine speaking during the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 27, 2016.
After a dramatic week of beauty queens, sex tape allegations and tax document leaks, the upcoming US vice presidential debate could feel like a throwback to simpler times.
Featuring low-key career politicians who are easily confused, the match-up between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence in Farmville, Virginia likely won't exude the reality show vibes Americans have come to expect in the 2016 presidential election.
Both VP picks have said their respective running mates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump set a high bar in the first of three presidential debates, which drew a record 84 million viewers.
/ AFP / MANDEL NGAN AND SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN,SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)(Photo: MANDEL NGAN, This content is subject to copyright.)

WASHINGTON — GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence will have a chance to change the focus of the presidential campaign in his debate Tuesday night with Democratic counterpart Tim Kaine, who will try to keep the spotlight on Donald Trump.

That dynamic could bring more viewers to the running mates’ only scheduled one-on-one exchange than had been expected before Trump experienced one of the worst weeks of his campaign, starting with his performance at the first presidential debate last week.

“When you have a debate smack in the middle of that, it really does raise the stakes,” said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan and editor of a new book, Debating the Donald. “It’s a tall order for Pence.”

Neither Indiana Gov. Pence nor Virginia Sen. Kaine had much of a national profile before being chosen, and they have been mostly overshadowed by their running mates.

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 20: Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence points to the crowd as he walks on stage to deliver a speech on the third day of the Republican National Convention. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(Photo: Win McNamee, 2016 Getty Images)

At times, Pence has received more media attention than Kaine, but often because he has had to be the “explainer in chief” of controversial Trump comments.

That task has substantially increased in importance.

“He needs to come across as a calming presence on the Republican ticket, and he could be placed on the defensive, given how Trump has handled himself since his first debate with Clinton,” said Robert Schmuhl, professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame.

About six in 10 respondents to a Gallup survey after the presidential debate said Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton did the better job, compared with less than three in 10 who thought Trump won. That gap was one of the largest in Gallup’s post-debate polls since 1960.

Since the debate:

Trump went on a Twitter rant about the weight gain of a former Miss Universe.

The New York Times reported Trump declared a tax loss of almost $1 billion in 1995 and may have avoided paying federal income taxes for 18 years.

The New York attorney general’s office ordered Trump's foundation to stop soliciting contributions.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who helped Pence prepare for Tuesday’s 90-minute debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., said Pence has to quickly dismiss the attacks on Trump and pivot to the problems of Clinton.

“If this election on Nov. 8 is about Hillary Clinton, she loses,” Walker said in a Sunday interview on John Catsimatidis’ radio show. “If it’s about some other assortment of side issues, then it’s a much more difficult race.”

The Trump campaign is trying to turn the attention to the money Clinton earned giving speeches after she served as a senator and secretary of State. And the Republican National Committee released a video Monday attacking Kaine for defending two killers when he was an attorney.

Kall, who watched Pence’s 2012 gubernatorial debates and Kaine’s 2012 Senate debates, said both are solid debaters, unlikely to commit any gaffes.

Both may have had more difficultly preparing for the debate because moderator Elaine Quijano, a CBS News correspondent and anchor, isn’t as well-known as some other debate moderators.

Kall suspects both sides studied her record and past interviews to get a sense of what questions she’ll ask and how she’ll pose them. Tens of millions of people are expected to see the debate — more than 51 million tuned in to the Biden-Ryan debate in 2012.

After Tuesday’s debate, Kaine is scheduled to campaign across Pennsylvania.